It has become common to treat a variety of medical conditions by introducing an implantable medical device partly or completely into the patient's body. Implantable medical devices are commonplace today in treating cardiac dysfunction, orthopedic conditions, and many other types of conditions requiring surgical intervention. Implantable medical devices fall within two broad categories: permanent and temporary devices. Temporary devices may be later removed from the body or made of bioabsorbable materials that disappear with time without being removed.
Materials used to make both permanent and removable temporary devices often must be made of strong materials which are capable of deforming or bending in accordance with the pressures and movements of the patient's body or the organ in which they are implanted. Current metals have limited fatigue resistance and some suffer from sensitivity to in vivo oxidation. Also, because of the fabrication methods used, many metal devices do not have acceptably smooth, uniform surfaces. This property is important to prevent an adverse response of the device in the body, and to prevent accelerated corrosion of the implanted device. Thus, it is desirable to produce these medical devices with a new material, i.e., one that is non-corrosive, highly elastic, and strong.
One object of the invention relates to producing a medical implant device which is more resistant to repeated deformation when it is used or implanted in the body.
Another object of the invention relates to a medical implant which is corrosion resistant and highly biocompatible.
Yet another object of the invention relates to a medical device which is durable enough to withstand repeated elastic deformation.